Why we bother with love if it never lasts
by Sgt-jbbarnes
Summary: In the worst moment of Toph's life, Sokka decided to be her best friend for one day. (Tokka & High School AU)
1. Foreword: Mother

Tomorrow you'll wake up and find out I'm not here anymore. Your dad you'll probably be crying, but I trust he'll be strong enough to take care of you. Damn, I hope he's strong enough… Oh, darling, I just hope someday you'll forgive me... See, I was very young when I met your dad. We were in High School and I was crazy about him. He was kind of popular and I was just me, a nerd who would give anything for five minutes of conversation with him. Then, it happened and he became my best friend… and soon he became my boyfriend and I loved him so much… At least I thought I loved him. Our life was a fairytale until I got pregnant. We were so young... I wasn't ready to be a mother, yet not even for one second I thought about not having you. I thought it would be easy, as if you were just a doll, but… Oh darling, some day you'll have children and you'll find out it's not easy. I should have given you away to someone who wanted a baby, someone who would take care of you just like you deserve and need. I wasn't ready fifteen years ago and I'm not ready now. I don't know who I am without you or your father and I need to find out. People may think you're weak, but not for one second you should believe them. You have always been so brave and strong, and I need you to be stronger than ever now because I won't be around anymore. I'm sorry, baby... I don't think you'll ever understand, but I hope you'll forgive me some day. I'm gonna miss you every day until we meet once more, but that's part of the process.


	2. You were the song stuck in my head

_You were the song stuck in my head  
__Every song I've ever loved  
__Played again and again and again_

* * *

It all started when someone crossed the gates of the school with a white cane. The news spread as quick as gooseberry in the water, and soon everyone was there to see the blind girl as if she was from another planet. People gossiped quietly and some of them laughed, but there was one guy who didn't bother depart his way just to go where she was. Sokka heard people talking about the new student, but he didn't think it was interesting news.

— Oh c'mon! — Satoru begged when Sokka closed his locker. — Everyone is talking about it. Aren't you curious?

— Honestly? No. I would be if she had a guide dog, but just because I like dogs.

— What if she's hot?

— You're gross and I don't wanna think about girls for the next month at least.

— Girls are everything you think about right now!

With the strap of his satchel crossing his chest, Sokka turned his back to Satoru and ignored everything else he said about that girl. He would usually take several minutes to walk to the next corridor, stopping to talk to someone here and there, but this day he didn't even say hello to anybody. Ignoring the world around him was becoming a usual habit, which was terrible for his popularity. He couldn't care less.

Sat somewhere in the back of the room, he crossed his arms over his table and hid his face between the members. It was too early to be out of bed and he hadn't been sleeping well for the last week. The only thing that made him look up was Zuko's hand poking the back of his head. That kid was just too annoying when he wanted to.

— What? — He asked with his elbow over the table and his jaw on his hand.

— Are you alright?

Sokka looked at Zuko and shrugged with a sigh. Saying yes would be a lie, but he wasn't exactly feeling as bad as before.

— Be right back. — He said as an excuse, and then left the class just to avoid another of the many compassionate looks everyone had been giving him since the monday before.

A sigh left his mouth as he leaned against the wall just in front of his class. With his head down, he covered his eyes with his hands and pictured Suki's face in his mind. That's when he heard that peculiar sound, something hitting softly and rhythmically on the floor, echoing through the corridor. He looked up and saw the caretaker coming closer with a girl.

She had a small backpack on her shoulders and a cane on one hand, and she held the caretaker's right arm so softly she almost didn't touch him. She was so short the man beside her looked like a giant, but her face wasn't the face of someone tiny and fragile. Her chin was up and her shoulders back as if she was the most self-confident person in the world. Her hair was dark and knotted around itself in a bun on the top of her head, and long bangs fell over her eyes. And oh damn, those eyes… they were almost white, with just a hint of green, the most beautiful eyes Sokka had ever seen. He could stare at her all day and never get tired or bored.

The next time he saw her, it was in the refectory. He was awkwardly having lunch in the same table as his friends and Suki, trying too hard not to look at her and refusing to take his earphones off so he wouldn't hear her voice. He looked back for no reason and saw the new girl on the other side of the glass wall. She was alone in the bleachers, sat with an ankle over the opposite knee and her elbows on the step behind her. There was an apple on her hand.

— You were the only one who didn't gossip about her and now you're staring. — Satoru needled.

— What? — Sokka looked at him and realized his friend had pulled his earphones off. He probably had been staring harder and longer than he thought. — I wasn't staring, I just… I think I'll go talk to her. No one likes to be alone on the first day, right?

He grabbed his bag and got up before he got an answer and did his best not to look at Suki's face, but failed. She seemed as confused as the others were, and it felt kind of good to him. He didn't know exactly why, but it was probably because she was paying attention to him. Ridiculous, of course, but what could he do?

— How do you like the new school? — He asked as he sat behind the new girl. She jumped to a straight posture, and then relaxed again.

— Can you not? — Her voice was high and a little childish, which made Sokka smile besides the rude tone.

— Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.

— That's why you didn't make a sound while walking? — She bit her apple and chewed loud, as if she wanted to make noise just not to hear him.

— I'll be louder next time. — He embraced his own thighs and rested his cheek on his knees. It was an awkward angle to look at her, but it didn't make her less beautiful. — Can I know your name?

— What do you want? I'm in this school for only a few hours and I already had enough of people asking if I have a guide dog and other stupid things like that.

— Do you? — Sokka asked with a smile.

— What?

— Do you have a guide dog? I like pets. I know guide dogs are not exactly pets, but they're still cute. — His smile went wider as he sat up.

The girl sighed and pinched her nose, right between her eyes. She frowned so had it was almost like her eyebrows were going to touch very soon. It was funny to make her angry.

— No! And I don't need someone to help me 24/7, before you ask. Any more questions?

— I wasn't going to ask that… And I still don't know your name. — He grabbed her hand and shook it. — I'm Sokka, nice to meet you.

— Toph. — She held his hand tightly and shook it back. Her face relaxed do a blank expression.

— Wow, you're strong. — He laughed, rubbing the hand she had just let go. — So, first day was rough, uh?

— Pretty much… Will you tell me why you are here? I mean, talking to me.

— Guessed you might want some company.

Toph frowned once more and took another bite of the apple.

— Are you one of those friendless nerds? — She asked with her mouth still full, so it was a little hard to understand.

— Even the nerds here have friends. But no, I'm not a nerd and I do have friends.

— Why you're not with them?

He looked to his friends through the glass wall and saw Satoru and Aang staring at him. Suki was talking to Ty Lee and totaly not looking.

— It's complicated. — He let go a heavy sigh and moved to sit beside Toph. — I broke up with my girlfriend last week and we have, like, all friends in common.

There was a brief moment of silence as Toph bit her lip. She bit the apple again, but this time she swallowed before talking.

— So, you're talking to the lonely girl to avoid your ex? The breakup was that rough?

— I would hide in a corner if I wanted just to avoid her… And yeah, it was terrible. She dumped me for another guy.

— Ouch…

— But he's gay.

— Double ouch!

Sokka laughed. For the first time after the breakup, he talked about Suki and then he laughed. He thought it was never going to happen, but it did and it felt good. Toph laughed with him and she sounded like a prankish little kid. He looked at her eyes and soon he forgot what was so funny. His laugh turned into a soft smile and he probably looked like an idiot.

— Are you staring at me? — She asked after a moment.

— Sorry… — He looked away and scratched the back of his head. His smile vanished and he looked at her again, this time with surprise. — Wait… How did you know? — He waved a hand in front of her face, but her eyes didn't move.

— Everyone stares at me. — She smiled, though she didn't seem happy to share that info.

— Oh… Sorry, it's just…

— Never met anyone blind before?

— Yes… No! I mean… I haven't but… That's not it.

— What, then?

"I was staring because you're beautiful." he thought but didn't say a word.

— Never mind. — Was he blushing? He could feel he was blushing, and he thanked God she couldn't see it.

A loud ring announced lunchtime was over. Sokka got up and stretched his back, trying to get emotionally ready for a Math class. Toph took one last bite on her apple and got up too. She took a folded cane out of her backpack and straightened it. Sokka didn't ask if she needed help, he just held her free hand and pulled her gently in the way out of the blenchers.

— Wow, you suck at this. — She grabbed his shoulders to make him stop walking and held his right arm right above his elbow. — Now you can walk.

It was a little difficult because there wasn't enough space to walk side by side, but it worked somehow.

— Do you have a boyfriend?

— No… why?

— Because if you did, it would be almost sad if you didn't let him hold your hand.

She laughed and shook her head as if it was the most stupid thing she had ever heard. When they were almost back inside the building, she squeezed his arm and stopped walking.

— Is there an easy way to skip class in this place? — She asked. Sokka stopped and looked at her, frowning questioningly as if it would make a difference. — I'm really not in the mood for class…

— You know what? Neither am I.

He guided her around the building, taking care so the caretaker wouldn't see them. That guy was as relevant as a door, but he told everything to the Principal. Once they were next to the wall in the back of the school, Sokka stopped and held her hand over the cane.

— Do you trust me? — He whispered.

— That's relative. — She smirked.

— I'll take that as a yes.

He took the cane out of her hand, ignoring her protests, folded it and put it on the pocket of his jacket. He held her hand and pulled her to a tree that leaned against the wall. Behind it, a little kind of warehouse projected itself about three feet from the ground. His bag and her backpack were thrown to the other side of the wall. Sokka lifted Toph, making her gasp in surprise, and put her sitting over the concrete structure. He climbed it himself and stood beside her.

— I'm gonna lift you again but the wall is not very wide, so be careful. — He warned.

— You're so gonna kill me…

When Toph was sitting over the wall, he climbed it and sat by her side. With a little difficulty, he put his legs on the outside if the school.

— Ok, now I need you to put your legs on the other side. — He said with a hand on her back and other on her shoulder.

— No way I can move up here! — She protested.

— I won't let you fall, I promise.

— Jesus Christ, you're insane. — She laughed quietly.

She grabbed his arm tight as she started to move. Sokka told her where to put her hands and guided her movements as he did his best to keep his promise. When she did it, he jumped to the sidewalk.

— Ok, now you have to jump.

— What?! — She held on to the wall as tight as she could, and even in the distance, Sokka could tell she was shaking.

He stood right in front of her, not far from the wall and put his hands up as if he was trying to reach her.

— Just jump, I'll catch you.

— What if you don't?

— I will.

She took two deep breaths and jumped. Sokka managed to catch her, but he lost his balance and they both fell to the ground. His back hit the sidewalk as her weight pressed him against it. Lucky she wasn't heavy. They both laughed as Toph got up. He took a while to move, due to the laughing and the pain in his back.

— Holy shit… you did catch me. — She said leaning against the wall and cleaning the laughing tears out of her eyes. Sokka leaned beside her and gave her cane back. — Thanks.

— So… where do you wanna go? — He asked as soon as he stopped laughing.

— I have no idea… I heard there's a café two blocks away.

— Kimmy's Café? No way, the owner knows my dad. — He looked at the watch in his wrist. — Karaoke?

— I don't sing.

— I wouldn't be fun if you did.

The karaoke was nothing but a bar with a stage in the background. It wasn't big and not many people knew the bar existed, but it was the only cool place an underage could get in without a fake ID. All they needed was an inked X on the back their hand and the promise to not try to get alcoholic drinks.

There was only five people in there, besides the owner, the waiter and the security guard that was asleep next to the door. Two girls on the stage sang something by Katy Perry, or maybe it was Britney… One couldn't tell because they were terrible and screamed more than the background sounds.

— I have a feeling we shouldn't be here. — Toph yelled to be heard above the music. Sokka pulled a chair for her on a table next to the stage. She sat down, folded her cane and put it over her legs.

— Why not? We can make some noise after those two are done, it'll be fun. — He yelled back.

— I never did this before.

— Singing in public?

— Skipping class.

The music stopped and the other three costumers cheered as if those girls were the best singers in the word. Sokka whistled and clapped just for fun. Instead of leaving the stage, the girls were deciding what would be the next song.

— Why did you do it, then? — He asked as soon as the noise stopped.

— Because my life is upside down. — She said with her head down, playing with the string of her cane. — Something very bad happened, and then I moved to the other side of the country because my dad wanted to run away from it, or whatever, and I left all my friends behind in the process. Not that it matters, they hadn't been very good friends for the last few months… I just needed something to make me stop thinking.

The waiter came to take their orders, and they went for some chips and coke. Sokka waited for him to go away before saying anything else.

— So, basically you need someone to cheer you up but you're new in town and your old friends suck?

She threw her head back and laughed.

— That's the most accurate description ever.

Sokka looked at the stage and saw the tuneless girls had gave up on the next song, which means there was no one singing. He got up and took Toph's hand so she would do the same. He put her cane over the table and guided her to the stage, telling her when she had to rise a notch.

— Miss… — He said handing her a microphone and taking another for himself. — Today I'm gonna be the best friend you ever had.

— Are we gonna sing in front of people? — She asked with a smile as he flipped the pages of the music guide.

— There's only eight people here, besides us. Three are working and one of them is sleeping. — He found a song he thought everyone in the world knew, so he looked up at her with a grin. — What about Under Pressure? Will you be the David for my Freddie?

— Totally.

The initial accords began and the lyrics appeared in a small screen in a corner of the stage. Sokka knew the words, but he kept an eye on the screen so he wouldn't miss the right time. A three second countdown appeared above the lyrics and he counted it quietly just for Toph to hear. They sang the first word together, and he was so bad she couldn't help laughing. He looked at her with a smile and kept singing as loud and terrible as possible, making it hard for her to hold the laugh.

By the time of Bowie's first solo, he kept quiet to let her show off a little. She had said she didn't sing, but it didn't mean she couldn't do it. Her voice was a little low and shy, but the tune was just right. Sokka almost lost the time for his own solo, but managed to sing it right. As the music went on, Toph let go little by little until they were dancing with each other. Her voice went louder and higher, almost hiding the disaster that came out of Sokka's vocal chords. They sang the last verses quietly as the music went out, and before the last accord their little audience were clapping and whistling. Sokka bowed to them, a hand gently pushing on Toph's back so she would do the same.

— Ok, that's definitely helped. — She confessed with a little laugh as they sat back on their table. Their food and drinks were already there and she seemed more than happy for eating it.

— I told you: the best friend you ever had.

— Ok, if you think so… — She teased with a smirk on her face.

Sokka folded a paper napkin into a ball and threw it on her head, but it barely touched her hair.

— What the fuck was that? — She protested and he laughed.

— A paper ball. — He clarified. — Best known as your punishment for not saying I'm the best.

— I won't say it, you're annoying. — She felt the table with a hand until she found the basket of chips and picked one of them. — Say something.

— Something like what? — He frowned and soon the chip hit his forehead as Toph laughed. — Ouch!

— I just wanted to be sure where you are. — She laughed.

Before Sokka could reply, a group of guys came in, talking loud and laughing. One of them ran to the stage and, before choosing a song, he said it was a good time to make people dance. Seconds later Avicii's _Wake Me Up_ started to play loud and Toph let out a squeal.

— Damn, I love this song! — She said loud enough to be heard.

— Wanna dance?

Toph frowned and seemed to think a little, but when the guy started to sing she smiled.

— Ok, let's go.

She got up and reached to Sokka so he would take her hand. He pulled her to the small dance floor on the center of the bar, where the singer's friends were already putting it on a show. Toph landed her hands on his shoulder and he put his on her waist. They started dancing together, singing along as she rolled her hips and moved her head lively. Sokka definitely didn't know how to dance, so nothing but his shoulders were moving.

It wasn't as if they were flirting, though. Even with both hands on her hips, there wasn't second intentions there. When he took her hand and made her turn around herself, he didn't even think about looking at her butt (and honestly, all the previous times he did it to other girls it was just to take a good look). When she wrapped her arms around his neck and there were just a few inches between their faces, it wasn't awkward nor tempting.

After the refrain, Toph put her arms up and jumped to the rhythm of the beat. The movements of her head made her hair fall on large waves over her shoulders until her waistline. She didn't seem to care, but Sokka couldn't help staring at her beauty. He jumped with her and let his mind free from any thoughts. It felt so good he wished that song was longer, but eventually it ended.

In their way back to their table, Sokka felt his phone buzzing on his pocket. He had a missing call from Katara and a new text from Zuko.

"_Where the fuck are you?" _The message said.

He looked at the tiny clock on the top of the screen and was surprised to see the last period was almost over.

— We have to go back. — He said to Toph at the same time he texted Zuko to say he was coming.

— Something's wrong? — She asked as she picked her cane and unfolded it.

— I have football practice after class, can't miss it. — He left a bill over the table and guided Toph out of the bar. — Want me to walk you home?

She tightened the grip on his arm a little and bit her lower lip.

— Can I watch your practice? — She asked quietly, as if she was afraid of his answer. — And by "watch" I mean sit in the blenchers and listen a podcast.

— No problem…

He wondered why didn't she want to go home, but he didn't ask. It was like she had a big secret, and he'd give anything to know what it was. He was curious about her, about the life she left behind, and why did she do it. He wanted to know about her parents and her old friends, and especially why they hadn't been good friends for the last months. But he wouldn't dare to ask, at least not for now.


End file.
